It’s an unfortunate circumstance that can happen to any association: Your leader goes astray, and public relations nightmares ensue. What do you do when your fearless leader messes up and it affects the association? How do you handle a crisis?

That and more in today’s Lunchtime Links:

When not to follow the leader: We’ve seen it happen before: think Lance Armstrong’s resignation in light of a doping scandal. This week, we’ve heard allegations against antivirus pioneer John McAfee, who recently returned to the U.S. after being wanted for questioning in a murder in Belize. When an association or company leader goes astray, it can be tough to know what to do. Inc.’s Eric V. Holtzclaw identifies four key steps to keep in mind to navigate a crisis, including how to prevent total fallout and how to keep your cool.

Branching out: Nobody puts social media in a corner. In fact, a good social media manager touches nearly every department in nonprofits and associations. Colleen Dilenschneider, chief digital marketing officer at IMPACTS Research & Development, explores this idea in her blog “Know Your Own Bone.” “Social media does not belong to the marketing department,” she writes. “It’s critical to open up communications between your marketing department and other departments … to succeed in attracting visitors, building affinity for your brand, connecting people to your cause, and securing donors.”

Google it: There’s an easy way to check out top trends of 2012: See what Google says. Zeitgeist analyzed Google queries to determine what the most-searched words were and recently released its results. While it’s interesting to see the funny stuff (“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” is the third most trending TV show, for instance), associations developing their 2013 strategy can take note of tech trends and flicks that got people talking. What are you taking from the 2012 trends?

What are you reading over lunch? Tell us your best links in the comments.

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